Citation: Zamfir, M.; Angelescu, I.-R.; Voaides, C.; Cornea, C.-P.; Boiu-Sicuia, O.; Grosu-Tudor, S.-S. Non-Dairy Fermented Beverages Produced with Functional Lactic Acid Bacteria. Microorganisms 2022, 10, 2314. https://doi.org/10.3390/ microorganisms10122314 Academic Editor: Antonio Bevilacqua Received: 9 October 2022 Accepted: 21 November 2022 Published: 23 November 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). microorganisms Article Non-Dairy Fermented Beverages Produced with Functional Lactic Acid Bacteria Medana Zamfir 1, * ,† , Iulia-Roxana Angelescu 1,† , Catalina Voaides 2 , Calina-Petruta Cornea 2 , Oana Boiu-Sicuia 2 and Silvia-Simona Grosu-Tudor 1 1 Institute of Biology Bucharest of the Romanian Academy, Splaiul Independentei No. 296, 060031 Bucharest, Romania 2 Faculty of Biotechnologies, UASVM-Bucharest, 59 Măr㸠sti Boulevard, 011464 Bucharest, Romania * Correspondence: medana.zamfir@ibiol.ro † These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract: At present, there is an increasing interest in beverages of non-dairy origin, as alternatives to those based on milk, but having similar health-promoting properties. Fermentation with specific bacteria or consortia may enhance the functionality of these products. In our study, selected lactic acid bacteria, that have been previously shown to possess functional properties (antimicrobial activity, probiotic potential), were used for the fermentation of wheat bran combined with root vegetables. Strains were investigated for their safety, while the obtained beverages were characterized in terms of microbial content, physical, chemical, nutritional, and functional properties. None of the strains harbors virulence genes, but all of them possess genes for survival at low pH, starch metabolism, and vitamin biosynthesis. Three strains (Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BR9, L. plantarum P35, and Lactobacillus acidophilus IBB801) and two substrates (5% wheat bran with 10% red beetroot/carrots) were selected based on a preliminary assessment of the beverage’s sensory acceptability. These strains showed good growth and stability over time in the stored beverages. No enterobacteria were detected at the end of fermentations, while the final pH was, in most cases, below 3.5. Free phenolics, flavonoids, and DPPH scavenging effect increased during fermentation in all drinks, reaching 24h values that were much higher than in the unfermented substrates. Most of the obtained drinks were able to prevent the growth of certain pathogens, including Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19111, Salmonella enterica ATCC 14028, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. The obtained beverages would combine the nutritiveness of the raw ingredients with the beneficial effect of fermentation (increasing shelf life, health-promoting effect, pleasant flavor, etc.). They would also fill a gap in the non-dairy probiotics sector, which is constantly increasing due to the increasing number of vegan people or people that cannot consume dairy products. Keywords: functional beverages; lactic acid bacteria; polyphenols; antioxidant activity; non-dairy probiotic products 1. Introduction Fermentation, in particular, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation is known as one of the oldest preservation methods, applied to various substrates, including milk, meat, fish, vegetables, and cereals. Besides preservation, LAB also contributes to the sensory, nutri- tional, and functional attributes of the final products [1]. Consumption of fermented foods and beverages implies health-promoting benefits [2,3], which include enhanced digestibil- ity, antipathogenic [4–6], antihypertensive [5], antioxidant [7], and immune-stimulating properties [8]. Homemade products, obtained by spontaneous fermentation, may differ in aroma, flavor, texture, and quality due to other environmental factors affecting the process [9]. Therefore, there is an increased concern nowadays to enhance the functionality of these products by standardizing the process and using specific bacteria or consortia with proven benefits [1]. Microorganisms 2022, 10, 2314. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10122314 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/microorganisms